Wednesday, June 18, 2014

I just wanted to share a few quotes from actual kids I talked to during my Summer Reading school visit today:

1) "We need to read over the summer to get smarter and learn more things so we can grow up and write books." (When I asked why it was important to read over the summer.) 2) "Can I live at your library?" It sounds fun." (When I talked about library programs.)3) And lastly, when I asked the kids if they were able to read for 20 minutes, one kid was like, "Psht, I can read for 20 HOURS." Oh yeah? PROVE IT, BIG SHOT.Happy Summer Reading, children's librarians. God help us all.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

So, I haven't talked about this much on here (mostly because I didn't want to jinx things), BUT I have some news to share about a picture book manuscript I've been working on for the past two years or so. After a lot of revising and waiting and revising and waiting, I'm beyond thrilled to announce that my book Edward Gets Messy has sold to Simon & Schuster Children's Books, thanks to the hard work of my wonderful agent Brooks Shermanand my awesome new editor Kristin Ostby. I am so excited to be working with this team! Here's the official announcement from PW Children's Bookshelf:

I'll post any significant updates about the book's actual creation as they occur. (And rest assured, I will NOT be doing the art.I just tried to draw a pig and this was the result. Someone call a vet!)

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

NYC schools have a half day today, so of course a big group of kids came to the library right when we opened. Kid (after seeing the computers are all being used for an adult computer class): "Aw, maaaaaan."Me: "Well, you can read while you wait!"Kid:"We can read when we're grownups. The only time we can have FUN is when we're kids."Me:

Monday, June 2, 2014

Yesterday I was doing some organizing in my apartment (you know how librarians like to have fun) and I came across a book of "Illustrated Librarian" temporary tattoos that I had received in grad school. Since I graduated approximately eight million years ago, I wanted to see if they still worked - and they did! CHECK OUT MY FRESH INK:

I've never seriously considered getting a real tattoo...not because I don't like them or because I'm afraid of the pain, but because I'm scared that I'll change my mind about whatever it is I choose as a design. I've toyed with the idea of getting something literary because, you know, BOOKS (side note: the Book Riot crew has a lot of inspirational literary tattoos, which you can see here), but I can't ever seem to be able to commit fully enough to an image or quote...at least not enough to feel good about it literally being a part of my body/skin for the REST OF MY LIFE. However, applying the fake tattoo yesterday kind of got me in the mood to at least THINK about designs, so I asked my insanely talented boyfriend Michael if he'd help me sketch something out, just for fun. (Michael also created this amazing librarian pulp poster a few years ago, so you know he's got talent.) He asked what ideas I had, and I told him that it might be nice to incorporate a part of my favorite quote ("The world was hers for the reading") from my favorite book (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith) into a related image (a tree. Because I like trees and "tree" is in the book title. I'm so original!) I told him I'd do a rough sketch first to show him what I meant.That's when things went terribly wrong. Okay, well, that's when my drawing went terribly wrong. As you can see from the image below (and from previousposts in this very blog), I have absolutely no artistic skill whatsoever. I'm not being modest or fishing for compliments when I say this. It's a well-established fact, and I am okay with it. So, basically, my version of a tree looks like a whale tail with Chia-hair. Luckily, from my monstrosiTREE (I don't know) Michael was able to understand the basic idea of what I wanted and drew a beautiful version of the quote in a tree:

I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to get Michael's design actually tattooed on my person, but I do love it. Or maybe I'll come up with another idea altogether that I'll actually decide is worthy of becoming a permanent "living" art exhibit. For now, I'll just stick with the temporary tattoo. (Maybe I'll trick the kids at the library into thinking it's real. Again, we librarians like to have our fun.)

"The witty and charming Colleen AF Venable joins me this week to answer some TOUGH QUESTIONS from listeners. We discuss issues like restricting what kids are allowed to read, who has the final say in what is even “appropriate” for kids in terms of literature, how to deal with family bookish drama, getting out of your own literary comfort zone, and much more. (Then we take a fun break and talk about poetry! Yay!)"

"The bold and brilliant Saladin Ahmed joins me for Episode #8 to answer two listener-submitted questions about very specific types of book guilt. Saladin and I act as judges in the 'Guilt Game,' deciding whether or not these people should feel guilty about things like not buying a book when you visit a book store, not finishing a book you’ve started, taking out library books when other people might need them more, and how not to act like a jerk to booksellers and authors. Have a listen!"

"I am joined this week by the philosophical and hilarious Ari Scott , who is a writer for the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC and AMC Story Notes. Ari and I give advice about to three listeners who are struggling with whether or not it’s a good idea to be honest with people when it comes to book recommendations. We cover red-hot topics such as: can I lie to my friend about having time to read this book she recommended? Should I tell my friend I think this series sucks? And, speaking of series, is it okay to hate Game of Thrones?"

"This week, the eloquent and enthusiastic Jonathan Auxier joins me on the show and we answer two listener-submitted questions about the different ways in which people experience books. Jonathan and I explore issues such as: is it better to deeply analyze a book, or just enjoy it? Am I driving my friends crazy when I pick apart their favorite novels? How do my partner and I reconcile our differences when we don’t experience books in the same way? And much more. Don’t miss it!"

(Note: there were some audio problems with the second half of Episode #10, which is annoying because Jonathan had lots of interesting things to say. But we are working on the problem and it should be fixed by the next show! Thanks for your patience.)

_______________________________________________________________

And if YOU have any bookish questions you'd like answered on the podcast, please email me at DearBookNerd@bookriot.com or use the little webform thingy at the bottom of each post above. Don't be shy! Try to challenge me! And thank you to those of you who have submitted questions and/or listened to the show. I really appreciate it.

Search This Blog

Follow by Email

About Me

I am a public librarian. I have a Master's Degree in Library Science and another Master's degree in Secondary English Education. I experience strange and wonderful things in my line of work. I like to share them. I (and/or my writing) have appeared in various places, including American Libraries Magazine, Huffington Post, The Village Voice, The Atlantic Wire, the NY Daily News, Book Riot, School Library Journal, The Hairpin, and more. This blog won the 2012 Salem Press Library Blog Award in the "Quirky" category. Find me on Twitter: @ScrewyDecimal!